CAHA Reports

This report details the full consultation process used to inform development of the Framework for a National Strategy on Climate, Health and Well-being.

The process involved three main elements: responses to a survey accompanying a Discussion Paper proposing a National Strategy for Climate, Health and Well-being, an online discussion forum held for nine days using the paxrepublic.com platform, and a health leaders roundtable and meeting with parliamentarians in Canberra.

Results from this process demonstrate the almost unanimous agreement among health professionals that there is urgent need for federal leadership and action.

This report provides an overview of the responses to the online survey accompanying the Discussion Paper: Towards a National Strategy on Climate, Health and Well-being for Australia.

These results represent the first national snapshot of the knowledge and views of healthcare stakeholders regarding the health impacts of climate change and on the health sector’s preparedness to deal with these impacts.

The survey results reveal overwhelming concern among Australian healthcare stakeholders regarding the lack of a national strategy to protect Australians from the health impacts of global warming, described by the World Health Organization as the ‘greatest threat to global health in the 21st century’.

The Climate and Health Alliance and Doctors for the Environment, Australia have released a joint report: Investing in Health, on the case for health and medical professionals and health and medical organisations to divest from climate changing fossil fuel investments, and shift their financial resources to clean, healthy, low carbon investments.

The Joint Statement calls for: health risks to be considered in all energy policy and investment decisions; independent air, water and soil quality monitoring at and around every coal mine and power station in Australia; and funding for research into health, social and environmental impacts of coal.

The Joint Statement is accompanied by aBriefing Paper on Coal and Health which outlines the scientific health and medical literature on the impacts on health from the production of coal

This report was produced following CAHA’s 2013 national forum to discuss the research, policy and advocacy agenda necessary to protect health from climate change in Australia, and around the world.

The national forum brought together health and medical and climate researchers, public policy experts, academics, representatives from research institutions health professional groups,psychologists, community advocates, and students.

Health and Energy Policy is a briefing paper outlining the health implications associated with energy policy. These health implications are becoming increasingly recognised by health, energy, climate and environment stakeholders around the world. The health costs associated with fossil fuel energy production and consumption are significant. Current global and national energy policy privilege fossil fuels at the expense of safer, renewable, and more sustainable energy options.This paper has been produced to highlight the risks to policymakers, the media, the health and energy sectors, and the community more broadly, and to encourage health professionals and health organisations to advocate for the implications for health to be recognised and reflected in Australian and international energy policy

This report summarises the latest national Think Tank on sustainability in healthcare, jointly hosted by Climate and Health Alliance and Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association.The Think Tank provided an opportunity to showcase some successful examples

of sustainable healthcare initiatives from hospitals and health services across Australia – and through two international speakers, across the globe.

This report is jointly produced by the Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA) and The Climate Institute.

This report draws together a large and growing body of evidence from health and medical research showing substantial health benefits linked to measures to cut emissions.It demonstrates that actions that cut carbon pollution can improve Australians’ health and could save billions of dollars and thousands of lives each year. View the report launch here. Download the report here.

The report documents an initiative at the 2012 Melbourne Sustainable Living Festival, where a ‘pop-up’ Climate and Health Clinic, staffed with volunteer ‘health promoters’ offered people the opportunity to develop their own ‘prescription’ for health and climate, using a tool designed for the event.